Question mark on Chavan, Gogoi fate; Hooda safe
As Congress leadership prepares for a massive organisational rejig after the lok Sabha poll debacle, it may give marching orders to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi while allowing Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to lead the State in the Assembly polls later this year. The party has not yet taken a final decision on the fate of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, whose leadership has been questioned by the NCP following the lok Sabha poll rout.
Amidst speculations over change of guard in the poll-bound Congress-ruled States, Hooda and Chavan on Saturday met party leadership, including Sonia Gandhi. Tarun Gogoi is likely to call on Sonia on Monday. Senior Minister from Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma may replace Gogoi if the Congress goes for a leadership change in the State.
“Since there are no early elections in Assam, the leadership views that if a change has to take place, it should be done now so that there is enough time for the new leadership in the State to prepare and perform in the Assembly elections. However, the Central leadership of the Congress is keen that any change of guard in the States should be done in an amicable manner,” AICC sources informed.
However, a similar decision in the case of Haryana and Maharashtra could be difficult as the States are going to elections later this year and time is to too short to make any experiment at this juncture.
While Assembly elections in Assam are scheduled in 2016, the term of Haryana Assembly expires in October and that of Maharashtra in December this year. Hooda had a 30-minute meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Chavan met party veteran AK Antony and Sonia’s political secretary Ahmed Patel before he called on the Congress president. Chavan in his meeting with the party president conveyed that atmosphere of uncertainty is not good for the State.
In a 30-minute meeting with Hooda, Sonia discussed the current political situation of the State and party’s prospect in the State. She conveyed that the Congress should take advantage of the mistake committed by the NDA regime, specially its failure to contain price rise and inflation.
Sources close to Hooda said the party high command did not ask him to make way for a new ‘CM’ and only instructed him to coordinate with the PCC and senior leaders to help the party retain power in the State. “She (Sonia) too was of the view that a sudden change may send the wrong message,” AICC sources said. Hooda personally dismissed as “rumours” the speculation over change of Chief Minister in the State.
But suspense continued on the fate of the Maharashtra’s CM even as two powerful State Congress leaders — Shivajirao Deshmukh and Shivajirao Moghe — met the Congress President at her residence. Moghe later also met
AK Antony. Deshmukh, who is the Chairman of Maharashtra legislative Council, is a four-time MlA and has been MlC twice. Moghe is currently the Minister of Social Justice in the Maharashtra Cabinet.
The talk about a change of guard in Maharashtra gained currency after Antony and Patel met NCP chief Sharad Pawar at his residence on Thursday night, where the issue was discussed. Sources have maintained that in case a decision is taken to replace Chavan, party veterans AK Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad could go to Maharashtra as observers. Antony was also the AICC in-charge of Maharashtra some time back.
Besides former Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, the names of State Ministers Bala Saheb Thorat and Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil are doing the rounds as successor to Prithviraj Chavan. Shinde has the distinction of serving the State as CM.
In Assam, Congress leadership has been under pressure to replace Tarun Gogoi for a long time in the face of massive rebellion in the State unit after Congress managed to win only three of the 14 lok Sabha seats.
In Guwahati, Gogoi refused to confirm the move to replace him and said any such decision will be taken by the Congress high command only. “I won’t say yes, I won’t say no,” Gogoi told a media briefing here when asked if his replacement was in the offing.